Recreation

The first time I ever saw a Louisiana Water-Thrush was when it was standing on a rather large rock out in the middle of a running tributary of Big Beech Creek in Shelby County.
He was reared back and singing his heart out for the entire world to hear. What a wonderful introduction it was.
Elder ornithologists have described his song as a striking exuberance with a ringing, weird quality, which tends to make this warbling song a true voice of the wild.

Because of its coloration, the Blackburnian Warbler has been called the most glorious of the whole family of warblers.
A proper name for this beautiful little bird would seem to be the Orange-throated Warbler, but instead it was named after its discoverer, a man named Blackburn. This 5-inch-long bird, with its 8.5-inch wingspan, has a long body that makes the tail look short. Look for a flaming orange throat, a white wing panel, a black cap and orange above the eye.

The Eurasian Collared Dove is a native of Eurasia, but it was released in the Bahamas in 1974.
Like some of the other alien species that have been released in the Americas, it has experienced an astonishingly rapid population explosion. For instance, the alien European Starling has become the most numerous bird species in North America, creating havoc to our own native species that also require cavities for nesting.

No one reported seeing a partridge in a pear tree, but birdwatchers that participated in Shelby County’s 40th annual Christmas Bird Count in December tallied thousands of birds and some memorable experiences.

The Wood Thrush has been one of my favorite songbirds since I was able to shinny up a tree with no limbs, and that has been awhile.
I remember finding this bird about 15 to 20 feet above the ground, beside Bib Beech Creek, below Salem Baptist Church near Southville in Shelby County. I wondered what might be inside and thought it sort of resembled a smaller version of a robin’s nest.

The family of Vireos only occurs in America, which is highly unusual, and this family haunts the higher portions of forests, where it diligently hunts for insects in bark crevices and under leaves.
The Yellow-throated Vireo particularly loves to eat horseflies, mosquitoes, hairy caterpillars off their tents and gypsy and tussock moths. Even though similar-sized wood warblers also inhabit this same type of environment, vireos appearances are somewhat different. They are bigger-headed, thicker-billed and slower moving.

The way that the Baltimore Oriole originally was named is extremely interesting within itself. It goes back a long way and is just one of many attributes to this beautiful, handsome, orange-and-black songbird.

The entire family of swallows are all so graceful in flight, as they perform almost all of their duties, totally on the wing.
A welcome factor along with their grace and beauty is they help rid your area of pesky, biting insects.